Related Tags:

OAKLAND (CBS SF) – Oakland police were seeking a man who allegedly attempted to kidnap a 9-year-old girl from in front of her home in East Oakland on Monday evening.

Police said the girl was playing next to her family’s home in the 1200 block of 94th Avenue at about 6:25 p.m. Monday when a stranger approached her and grabbed her.

The man wrapped both of his arms around the girl, lifted her off the ground, began to inappropriately touch her and started to carry her away, police said.

But before he could leave with the girl, her family members were able interrupt the attempted kidnapping and he released her, according to police.

The man then fled on foot, heading south on 94th Avenue, police said.

They described him as a Hispanic man in his mid- to late 20s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and 170 pounds with a light complexion, ears that stick out, short black hair that is spiked in front and long in the back, and a mustache and goatee.

He was wearing a gray long-sleeve shirt with black sleeves and a black stripe on the chest, and blue jeans.

Witnesses said the suspect got into a silver, two-door 1990s Honda Civic parked down the street, according to police.

Investigators believe Monday’s incident may be related to a kidnapping attempt by two men last Nov. 5 because the description of one of the suspects in that case is similar to Monday’s suspect description.

In the November case, a 14-year-old girl was walking in the 1400 block of 103rd Avenue at about 4:30 p.m. when a stranger approached her from behind and grabbed her. The stranger tried to pull her over to a nearby waiting vehicle, according to police.

The girl struggled and was able to escape from the man and run home, where she told her parents what happened, according to police.

The suspect in Monday’s kidnapping attempt is believed to have been the driver in the November incident, police said.

Police said both suspects in the November case were described as Caucasian males in their mid- to late twenties, tall and thin, and about 140 to 150 pounds.

The man who approached the girl was described as clean-shaven with shoulder-length blond hair. He was wearing a white T-Shirt and black pants with brown work shoes, according to police.

The driver was described as having a goatee and short brown hair that was spiked, police said.

The suspects’ car was described as a newer-model, red two-door Dodge Ram pickup truck with an extended cab that may have a gray interior, police said.

Oakland police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland were offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest in the attempted kidnapping on Monday.

Police said anyone with information should call the youth and family services division at (510) 238-3641 or the tip line at (510) 637-0298.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)